Detonating toy vehicle



March 13, 1962 G. LlclTls A 3,024,566

DETONATING TOY VEHICLE Filed sepi. 22, 195s United States Fatent fhce3,024,566 Patented Mar. 13, 1962 3,024,566 DETQNATING TOY VEHICLE GunarsLicitis, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Eil. FiledSept. 22, 1958, Ser. No. '762,607 7 Claims. (Cl. 46-112) The presentinvention relates generally to a toy and more particularly to a toywhich is operable to detonate explosive caps and eject objects as it ismoved along a supporting surface.

The operating mechanism of the present invention is designed 'todetonate a succession of caps and eject objects as it is propelled alonga supporting surface. Thus, if the mechanism is enclosed in a housingresembling a tank, the toy can simulate a tank firing its cannonrepeatedly and discharging shell cases or the like.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism fordetonating caps and ejecting objects as the mechanism is moved along asupporting surface.

Another object is the provision of a simple cap detonating and objectejecting toy which can be economically manufactured and which is durablein use.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will beunderstood by reference to the following description and theaccompanying drawing.

ln the drawing:

FIGURE l is a side view of a toy embodying various of the features ofthe present invention with a portion broken away to show the internaloperating mechanism, the detonating hammer being illustrated in anon-firing or cocked position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 2-2 of FIGUREl; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIGUREl.

The toy shown in the drawing generally comprises a housing which issupported for movement on a supporting surface. A drive wheel 12, whichis rotatably mounted within the housing 10 so as to frictionally engagethe supporting surface, is rotated by propelling the housing along thesupporting surface. Means 13, associated with the drive Wheel 12,intermittently operates a cap feeding means 14, which is adapted tosuccessively feed caps c into position to be detonated, incident to therotation of the drive wheel 12. The caps c are sequentially detonated bya hammer 16 which is'intermittently operated in timed relation to theoperation of the feeding means 114 by a cam means 18 associated with thedrive wheel 12. Also, as the toy is propelled along the supportingsurface, an ejecting means 20, which is operated intermittently by means13 associated with the drive wheel 12, discharges objects 22 from thehousing 1t).

The operating mechanism of the present invention may be applied tovarious forms of toys. Since the operating mechanism notonly detonatescaps but also ejects objects, it is ideally suited to be utilized with ahousing that simulates a tank, as illustrated in the drawing. Thetankshaped housing 10 includes a turret 24, which has a simulated cannon26 extending forwardly therefrom, mounted upon a body 28 havingsimulated tracks 30 extending laterally outwardly from each of itssides. The housing 10 may be made of readily formable material such asplastic and may be formed in two halves that, after the internaloperating mechanism is assembled, are suitably joined together.

In order to obtain access into the interior of the housing 10, thellower portion of the housing is covered by a base plate 32 which ispivoted by one end on a pair of pins 34 extending inwardly toward eachother from the inner surfaces of the side walls of the housing 19. The

base plate 32 is held in a closed position by projections 36 extendingfrom the side walls of the housing 10.

The drive wheel 12 extends through a suitable longi tudinally extendingslot 38 inthe base plate 32 which may be disposed midway between thetracks 30. The drive wheel 12 is tixedly mounted to a horizontallyextending, rotatably mounted drive shaft 40, which is verticallydisposed so that the drive wheel extends slightly below the lowersurface of the housing 10. The ends 41 of the drive shaft 40, which areof reduced diameter, are journalled in apertures 42 in the side walls ofthe housing 10. The drive wheel 12 is provided with a peripheral groove44 in which there is disposed an O-ring 46 or the like.

The O-ring 46, which is of a material having a high co-eiiicient offriction such as rubber or the like, provides frictional engagementbetween the drive wheel 12 and the supporting surface.

The cap feeding means `14, in the illustrated embodiment, is adapted tofeed the caps successively to a lposition to be detonated. It includes astriker plate in the shape of a drum. The drum 47 is fixedly mounted ona horizontally extending shaft 48 located forwardly of and above thedrive shaft 40. The drum shaft 48 is jour= nalled in the housing 10` onreduced diameter endrportions 50 which are supported in apertures 52 inthe side walls of the housing 10. The drum 47 is provided with equallyspaced apart radial projections 54 extending outwardly therefrom, theprojections being spaced as to conform with the spacing of theperforations which occur between individual caps in a roll of caps c. Inthis Way, as the drum 47 is rotated, as hereinafter described, theperforations in the strip of caps c, which is drawn from the roll ofcaps, are sequentially engaged by the projections 54 extending from thedrum 47. As illustrated, the roll of caps is disposed on a cap spindle56 extending from the side of the housing 10 forwardly of the drum shaft48.

The drum 47 is intermittently rotated by the interengagement of the cammeans 13 attached to the drive wheel 12 with a star Wheel 58 which isfixedly attached to the drum shaft 48.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cam means 13 comprises an arcuatelyshaped cam shoe 59 which extends outwardly from the side of the drivewheel 12 near the outer `edge thereof. The star wheel 58, in theillustrated embodiment, includes four radially extending, arcuatelyshaped arms 60 each of which has a camming surface 60a at its outer endwhich is engaged by the cam shoe 59. The cam shoe 59 is positioned torotate the star wheel 53 a quarter of a turn or 90 for each revolutionof the drive wheel 12. To positively index the star wheel 58, a cam 62,which is lixedly attached to the drive shaft 40, is shaped so as to bearupon the trailing edge of the arm 60 of the star wheel 58 after the starwheel is initially engaged by the cam shoe 59 and indexed to its properposition.

The caps are detonated by the detonating hammer 16. which is Xedlyattached by one end to a horizontally extending shaft 64 located abovethe drive shaft 40, in such a position that the end of the hammerstrikes a portion of the drum 47. The shaft 64 is pivotally mounted tothe housing 10 by means of reduced diameter end portions 66 which arejournalled in apertures 68 in the side walls of the housing 10. Theportion of the hammer 16 which makes contact with the drum 47 may beserrated, as shown in FIG. l, to increase the effectiveness of thehammer in detonating a cap.

The hammer 16 is urged toward its firing position byv means of a coiledspring 70 disposed on one of the extending arms of the shaft 64. One endof .the coiled spring 70 is extended to forman L-shaped arm 72 which isengaged with the upper'surface of the hammer 16, as

shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, and the other arm 74 of the coiledspring is flxedly engaged, because of its disposition, beneath the drumshaft 4S.

The hammer 16 is moved alternately between a firing and a non-firingposition by means of the cam means 1S which is fixedly attached to thedrive shaft 40 and is operable to bear upon a camming surface 75 of anarm 76 extending laterally from the hammer 16. The cam means 18 shouldbe of such a shape that the hammer 16 is maintained in a non-firingposition (i.e. the serrated end of the hammer is spaced from the drum47) during the movement of the drum 47 and released quickly when the capis to be fired. The cam means 18 in the illustrated embodiment is spiralshaped with a sharp drop off at its trailing edge to insure firing ofthe cap.

The means 20 for ejecting the shells 22 from the housing 10 is disposedrearwardly of the drive wheel 12 and comprises a star wheel 77 which isfixedly mounted to a horizontally extending, rotatable shaft 78. Theshaft 7S is journalled in the housing 1t? by means of reduced diameterend portions 8() which are supported in apertures 82 in the side wallsof the housing. The star wheel 77, in the illustrated embodiment,includes four equally spaced, radially extending, arcuate shaped arms 84which have camming surfaces 85 at their outer ends. The camming surfacesS are engaged by a cam means which, in the illustrated structure, is thecam shoe 59 which actuates the cap feeding star wheel 58. Consequently,the ejecting star wheel 77 is rotated 90 for each revolution of thedrive wheel 12.

The objects 22 to be ejected, which in the illustrated embodiment areshaped to simulate spent shell casings, are deposited between two of thearms 84 of the ejecting star wheel 77 from a magazine 86 disposed abovethe star wheel. The magazine 36 maintains the shells 22 in stackedarrangement by means of an elongated T- shaped slot S8 which is disposedin the side wall of the housing and extends at an angle from a positionadjacent the star wheel 77 to the top of the housing. The slot 38 is ofsuch size as to receive the flanged portions of the shells 22. Theshells 22 are inserted into the magazine 86 through a suitable opening(not shown) in the upper part of the housing 10.

As the drive wheel 12 rotates, the cam shoe 59 on the drive wheel 12bears upon the camming surfaces 85 of the ejecting star wheel 77 therebyrotating the star wheel. The shell, which is seated between the arms S4,is thus carried to a position where it falls from the star wheel 77through an opening 90 in the bottom of the housing 10. The outer ends ofthe ejecting star wheel arms 84 are of such a shape and size that theypermit only one shell to be seated between the arms,

To prepare the toy for operation, the base plate 32 of the housing 10 isopened, a roll of caps c is positioned on the spindle 56 and the rolledoff end portion of the roll of caps c is arranged on the projections 54extending from the drum 47. The base plate 32 is closed and shells 22are inserted into the magazine 86. The toy is then ready for operation.As the toy is propelled along a supporting surface, `the drive wheel 12rotates and operates the feeding mechanism 14, the hammer 16, and theejecting means 2f), thus successively detonating the caps and ejectingthe shells 22 from the rear portion of the housing 1f).

Various changes and modications may be made in the above describedconstruction without departing from the scope of the invention. Variousof the features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, a rotatable member in saidhousing, means for rotating said rotatable member, feeding means mountedin said housing and adapted to successively feed caps into position tobe detonated, a first actuating means associated with said rotatablemember for intermittently activating said feeding means incident to therotation of said rotatable member, a detonating hammer mounted in saidhousing and adapted to engage a cap and cause the explosion thereof, asecond actuating means associated with said rotatable member foralternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firingposition in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, amagazine dis posed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality ofobjects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objectsfrom said housing, said rst actuating means associated with saidrotatable member also being for intermittently actuating said droppingmeans incident to the rotation of said rotatable member.

2. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting saidhousing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mountedin said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supportingsurface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted tosuccessively feed caps into position to be detonated, a first actuatingmeans associated with said wheel for intermittently activating saidfeeding means incident to the rotation of said wheel, detonating hammermounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap and cause theexplosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheelfor alternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firingposition in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, amagazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality ofobjects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objectsfrom said housing, said first actuating means associated with said wheelalso being for intermittently actuating said dropping means incident tothe rotation of said wheel.

3. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting saidhousing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mountedin said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supportingsurface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted tosuccessively feed caps into position to be detonated, a first actuatingmeans associated with said wheel for intermittently activating saidfeeding means incident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonatinghammer mounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap and cause theexplosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheelfor alternately moving said hammer between a tiring and a non-firingposition in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, amagazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality ofobjects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objectsfrom said housing, said first actuating means associated with said wheelalso being for intermittently actuating said dropping means in timedrelation to the actuation of said cap feeding means.

4. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting saidhousing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mountedin said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supportingsurface, a drum rotatably mounted in said housing, said drum havingradial projections extending therefrom, said projections being sopositioned and spaced as to correspond to the perforations in a strip ofcaps which are to be used with the toy, a first actuating meansassociated with said wheel for intermittently actuating said drumincident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonating hammer mounted insaid housing and adapted to engage a cap on said drum and cause theexplosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheelfor alternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firingposition in timed relation to the operation of said drum, a magazinedisposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects,means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects from saidhousing, said first actuating means associated with said wheel alsobeing for intermittently operating said dropping means incident to therotation of said wheel.

5. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means spegnere forsupporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheelrotatably mounted in said housing and adapted to frictionally engage thesupporting surface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted tosuccessively feed caps into position to be detonated, an actuating meansassociated with said wheel for intermittently actuating said feedingmeans incident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonating hammerpivotally mounted in said housing and movable between a ring and anontiring position, means urging said hammer toward the tiring position,cam means associated with said wheel for alternately moving said hammerbetween a tiring and a noniring position in timed relation to theoperation of said feeding means, a magazine disposed in said housing andadapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent saidmagazine for dropping the objects lfrom said housing, said actuatingmeans associated with said wheel also being for intermittently operatingsaid dropping means incident to the rotation of said wheel.

6. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for moving saidhousing along a supporting surface, a cap detonating means mountedwithin said housing, a star wheel rotatably mounted in said housing,said wheel having a plurality of radially extending arms, a magazinedisposed a-bove said star wheel in said housing in such a position as tofeed objects to a position between a pair of said arms, a first means insaid housing connected to said moving means so as to be operableincident to the movement of the housing along the supporting surface forintermittently rotating said star wheel and a second means in saidhousing connected to said moving means for operating said cap detonatingmeans in timed relation to the operation of said star wheel.

7. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting saidhousing for movement on a supporting surface, a drive wheel rotatablymounted in said housing in such a position as to frictionally engage thesupporting surface, a drum rotatably mounted within said housing,projections extending from said drum which are adapted to engagecorresponding perforations in a strip of caps which are to be used withthe toy, a star wheel xedly connected to said drum, a cam shoe extendingfrom said drive wheel in such a position as to intermittently rotatesaid star wheel incident to the rotation of said drive wheel, adetonating hammer pivotally mounted in said housing in such a positionas to engage a portion of the surface of said drum in its tiringposition, cam means -fxedly connected to said drive wheel foralternately moving said hammer between a ring and a non-firing positionin timed relation to the operation of said drum, an ejecting star wheelrotatably mounted within said housing, said ejecting star wheel having aplurality of equally spaced arms extending outwardly from the centerthereof, the outer ends of said arms being sequentially engaged by saidcam shoe, whereby the ejecting star wheel is intermittently rotatedincident to the rotation of said drive wheel, and a magazine disposed insaid housing above said ejecting star wheel in such a position as tofeed objects to a position between a pair of said arms.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS738,613 Holloway Sept. 8, 1903 2,137,159 Fischer Nov. 15, 1938 2,551,109lFornary May 1, 1951 2,578,029 Ahmanson Dec. 11, 1951

